Decommissioned Do Not Use

Breaking the string...

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:23:33 -0800

I came into these Games 0-6 for Opening and Closing Cermonies and sort of proud of the fact. All those Games, all that effort, all that coverage and not a second spent in a seat in a stadium with the fireworks going off and the athletes crying and the flag being passed and the flame being doused and the crowd enraptured and the cameras rolling
for billions around the world. I've always been able to say, grumpily but with pride, that "I was working" when people asked me if I was there for the Opening or Closing gala. Now I can't. (Click here to view the pictures.)

I broke the string...

It Takes a Village

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 16:58:39 -0800

Perhaps what's so astonishing about Apolo Ohno is his willingness to acknowledge it takes a village, a community, a team to create Olympic success. In an interview with KING 5, he thanks the Seattle area for supporting him since he was 12 years old and just beginning to skate. He thanks his teamates, calling them a "brotherhood" that trained, cried and medaled (bronze in relay) together. Heck, he even credits South Korean rival Ahn Hyun-soo with being such a competitor they "make each other better" on the ice. These aren't platitudes or "saying the right thing." They are heartfelt declarations. Despite his individual gold and bronze, Ohno tells NBC's Jim Lampley there was "nothing better" than the U.S. team's finish in the relay. "It touches my heart that we could share this moment," says Ohno.

Most Memorable Moment

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 06:13:37 -0800

I didn't know I could get caught up in the moment like that. But, watching Apolo Ohno compete in last night's 500 meter race, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat at the Palavela, screaming, "Go! Go! Go Apolo!" until I didn't have a voice anymore. (Click here to view pictures from the event). When you cover local athletes at the Olympics and follow them for months before they ever make it to the games - they become people you root for, people you genuinely enjoy talking to, people you truly care about. And covering Apolo Ohno's journey has been an absolute pleasure...

Pizza Party with Ohno

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 06:04:09 -0800

Apolo and his short-track posse dropped by last night to celebrate a big night and scarf as much pizza as possible. Click here to view the pictures. All they did before that was take a bronze in the wild relay race as a group while Ohno pocketed a gold medal in the 500 meters. This time, he actually crossed the finish line first. You might remember that back in 2002 he won gold medal courtesy of a contrversial judging decision which disqualified the guy who hit the finish line first...

Bode Miller twists ankle in pickup b-ball game

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 10:20:34 -0800

Apparently NFL and NBA players aren't the only ones to get injured in pickup basketball games while they're in the heat of sports competition.

Bode Miller apparently was playing some basketball with fellow skiiers - something they do to stay fresh and keep fit when they're on the World Cup circut, when "he came down on someone's foot and twisted his ankle a bit and had to quit the basketball game," said Redmond skier Scott Macartney, who was in on the game. "But I think he's going to be fine," Macartney said.

His coaches say so too and that Miller will be ready for his upcoming slalom competition this Saturday.

Macartney mentions the injury during this interview with Allen Schauffler.

Big brother - and big sister - are watching

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 17:15:12 -0800

We've heard alot of Olympics stories about female athletes who learned to compete against their older brothers. Lindsey Jacobellis says she owes some of her aggression, and competitiveness, as well as some of her snowboard skills to her older brother, Ben. And local skier Libby Ludlow in addition to having her own older brothers, has a friend who's like a brother. Fellow U.S. team member Scott Macartney has been on the slopes of the Northwest with her since childhood. It's enough to give big brother a good name.

But the highest interest...and perhaps the highest hopes rest with a big sister. Let's see if something of older sister Sarah Hughes' gold medal winning performance in Salt Lake City rubs off on little sister Emily Hughes in womens' figure skating. We'll know this week. Stay tuned.

And now, a word from our sponsors

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 17:05:55 -0800

Parents are often the very first sponsors of great athletes. Snowboarder Toby Dawson was adopted from a South Korean orphanage by parents who happened to be crazy about skiing. They made his new life and passion possible. Shani Davis, speed skater, thanked his mom, a single parent, who worked two jobs to make his gold medal dreams come true. The parents of figure skaters Sarah and Emily Hughes gave not one but two daughters to the sport.
There are parents at all levels of sport, who watch at the sidelines, who cheer and cry, who drive kids to practice, who give up money and family time to try and make their kids' dreams come true. It's a great thing parents do. So kids can do great things, too.

Apolo shows grace under fire

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:28:58 -0800

There’s no denying short track speed skater Apolo Ohno is a class act. Observe how he conducted himself on the medals podium after taking Bronze behind Koreans Ahn Hyun-Soo (Gold) and Lee Ho-Suk (Silver) in the 1000 meters. He put his arms around his competitors, shook their hands and smiled. He appeared genuinely happy for their achievement. It brought to mind the purpose of these Olympic Games – to bring the world together through sport....

Libby Ludlow 'tough as nails'

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:19:55 -0800

Thumbing you a report on my Blackberry from beautiful San Secario Fraiteve. Only it's not so beautiful today. Bitter cold and snowing up a storm, zero stunning alpine vistas in evidence. An hour and a half before the start of the women's Super-G event (which will likely be postponed due to weather) the stands are already filling up with dancing, singing, flag-waving, sign-carrying ski fans and members of athletes' families. What snow? What wind? These people are lit from within by the Olympic glow and maybe in a few cases by the local herbal liquer, Genepe.

It's my first chance to bust out of Torino abd get into the mountain venues for an event. Bellevue native and Crystal Mountain Alpine Club product Libby Ludlow skis her only event and we'll be here to talk with her at the finish line...

The WINTER Olympics are Back

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:01:43 -0800

After having spring-like weather to start these Olympic games, winter has finally returned. While some mountain venues struggled to keep the slopes prepared early on, the past three days have seen Olympic alpine events postponed due to heavy snow, fog and winds.

When the wind and snow came Friday, the downhill portion of the Womens Combined was postponed. On Saturday, the Mens Super G was interrupted by snow, a stroke of luck for Redmond's Scott Macartney. Scott's first run came as a snow storm hit, he ended up with an unimpressive time. Fresh powder is not a ski racers friend... ice is nice (and much faster). Officials restart the race from the beginning later in the day and Scott blazes a great run for a 7th place finish. On Sunday, the Womens Super G is postponed due to heavy fog and snow.

It's even snowing here in Torino, turning the cityscape into a white (slushy) wonderland. It feels like the WINTER Olympics again.

Snow, Apolo & more!

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 09:16:39 -0800

It's snowing in the city of Torino! We arrived on Friday and the city was sunny and beautiful. Yesterday I met up with with some Seattle tourists who were standing at the Piazza San Carlo where the Today Show was shooting. I also met three American students who had their faces painted red, white & blue in honor of the U.S. Men's hockey team. You'll meet them in one of my "Postcards fromTorino" reports on "Evening Magazine" this week...

Land of soft targets

Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:22:01 -0800

Two nights ago a stern, uniformed man with a gun stopped me at the entrance to our media village to check my credentials. That's a good thing and I am all in favor of it. What's a bad thing is that we've been here two weeks and that's the first time it's happened.
Security for us media types has been relaxed to say the least, at least measured against previous games. In Athens we had to get off the bus at the end of the driveway into our housing area, present our credentials and walk to the front door where we passed through a "mag and bag" security screening. Every bus coming into the driveway, dropping off or picking up passengers, was checked for bombs by a security crew with roll-under mirrors...

Can you make that a Venti?

Sat, 18 Feb 2006 04:48:03 -0800

Rewind back to 2002, the Salt Lake games. I really didn't have that daily latte habit. You know, the one that sucks $3-4 out of your wallet each morning. We were putting in long hours at the NBC News workspace in the Gateway Center. A short walk away, a new Starbucks. I quickly became a patron morning, noon, and night. Now I'm a regular at my local coffee establishment. Hooked. Iced triple grande non-fat, no-whip mochas, and on those assignments with really long days, a quad venti.

Fast-forward to present day - Torino. A friend has already told me, no Starbucks in Torino. Reason tells me not to panic. After all, every corner shop has an espresso machine. What I didn't expect was the "portatile via" ("to-go") size cappuccino was only slightly larger than a AA battery...

There's gold in our mountains

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 10:56:51 -0800

Check out the Olympics and Cascades today, beautiful white robes of new snow on the jagged peaks. What you can't see in those mountains is Olympic gold. Not yet. But two local skiers, Scott Macartney and Libby Ludlow, who trained at Crystal Mountain, go for the gold this weekend. They aren’t touted as the top contenders, but in these games so far we've seen some stars fade and some new leaders emerge.

For sure what they bring will be inspiration to thousands of local kids watching them. And training their sights on Whistler, where the games will be held in four years...

Another inside look...

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 02:51:04 -0800

Torino is home base for most of our KING 5 live shots from the 20th Winter Olympic Games. Occasionally you'll see us in the majestic mountain town of Sestriere too, but of course there's alot you don't see when Allen and Mimi are standing at those pretty locations.

Yes, sometimes it's a bad idea to see where they make the sausage, but here goes...